Synthetic Oil

[bmwgolfguy]

I have an 06 Outback with a little over 18,000 miles on it. I bought it new and it is a little over two years old. I have the straight 2.5 engine with 175hp.

I am currently running fossil oil in the engine and am wondering about the wisdom of a synthetic oil, either full synthetic or a blend. Further what brand would be recommended?

I was told by my dealer to avoid the synthetics. They didn't give any real reason other than I suspect they want to change my oil for me every 3,000 miles whether it needs it or not.

I would appreciate anyone's thoughts.

Thanks in advance.

[MalibuBob]

This is a stretch, but here's my experience with synthetic oil in a Subaru...
Our first one was a late 80's Loyale wagon. I used synthetic oil in it (Mobil 1), and it worked just fine, until we had a lot of oil leaks. It seems that the combination of the extra slippery synthetic oil, the horizontal engine, and whatever Subaru used for gaskets didn't work well. The oil laid in the cylinders, and eventually worked it's way through the gaskets.
Since there was nothing in the manual saying not to use synthetic oil, Subaru replaced the gaskets under warranty, and I stopped using synthetic oil.
As for synthetic oil in general:
I use a very good independant shop for repairs and maintenance to all our cars. Thier take on synthetic oil is that unless your engine requires it, and if you do oil changes at the recommened intervals, it's a waste of money. They only recommend synthetic to thier customers who wait 10-20K miles (or longer!) between changes.

[G.A.S.]

If someone is haveing a problem with synthetic and gaskest or seals, that is a first I have herd of it reaction wise detereating anything. Could the bolts on the covers been a little loose?
I use syn. in all my vehicals , small engines. never a problem.
The only thing I would add is, Start using regular engine oil for the break-in period and then switch to the syn.
You dont want to start a fresh engine with syn. oil.
change your filter and top off with oil every 3000 and, the oil and filter at 15,000.
truthfully, the oils they produce now are good for 6-8K and one filter change in between.

[MalibuBob]

Just 'cause you haven't heard about it, doesn't mean it didn't happen...
There were no loose bolts, and the gasket didn't deteriorate...the synthetic oil just oozed through it.
This was a 80's era Subaru, and they have probably improved things since then.